SBBJ cuts base rate by 15 bps to 10.10%

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has reduced its base rate, benchmark used for pricing loans, by 15 basis points to 10.10 per cent.

The new revised rate will be effective from May 06, 2015, said SBBJ, associate bank of State Bank of India, in filing with Bombay Stock Exchange.

SBBJ is one of the banks that reduced key lending rates after much chiding by Reserve Bank of India and government of India. The lender had flagged issue of delay or lack of monetary transmission (passing on benefit of lower cost of funds to final customers).

Few banks including SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank had reduced base rate after Reserve Bank of India cut policy rate (repo rate) twice by 25 basis points each since January 2015. Now repo rate stands at 7.5 per cent.

According to finance ministry data, following the reduction in the policy rate, out of a total 91 scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), 21 banks (4 Public Sector Banks, 6 Private Sector Banks and 11 foreign banks) reduced their base rates in the range of 10-50 bps so far (up to April 15, 2015).

The weighted average lending rates on fresh rupee loans sanctioned by banks for housing and vehicle loans have also come down in the range of 8-53 basis points during the same period.